


A Lesson Learned

by pailofmilktea



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Fanart, Joshua needs to answer for his crimes, Short One Shot, post game spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-12 11:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16872022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pailofmilktea/pseuds/pailofmilktea
Summary: "I guess it's their problem now," Hanekoma had said. He didn't expect an Angel to come down and address that statement personally.-Accompanying art byRefelesque!





	A Lesson Learned

**Author's Note:**

> The beautiful art provided in the piece is by [Refelesque](https://www.instagram.com/refelesque/) <3  
> She's also the one who dragged me into TWEWY hell and I quite like it down here.

 

"I can't believe you actually thought that was a good idea!" the Angel laughed, their voice reverberating around the Composer's Chamber, as if claiming the area for themself. They had arrived only minutes ago, and the conversation had already derailed into unintended insult. There was very little friendliness in the Angel's bright, brown eyes, and Mr. Hanekoma found himself rooted to his spot some meters away from the two.

Headquarters had finally decided to do something about Shibuya's state of affairs, mostly triggered by Kitaniji's actions, but that didn't mean they were blind to Joshua's own actions. Hanekoma had very quickly found out that Ephee had been the one reading his reports.

He wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

"I had my reasons," Joshua said firmly.

"Aw, you brat," Ephee berated. Their grin was almost disarming. Joshua had no time to react before Ephee had wrapped an arm around his waist and slung him over their shoulder, holding him there effortlessly with one hand.

"Put me down!"

Ephee only smiled. "One of the most famed Composer's this side of the Pacific loses control of his Reapers  _and_ Game Masters and, arguably, himself, then decides to do what is basically considered illegal. Needless to say, I'm interested in what you have to say."

"I'm the Composer—"

"Exactly, you're the  _Composer_ ," they interrupted cheerfully.

“So, who the fuck told you that you could erase Shibuya? Because that is not within your jurisdiction.”

“Put me _down_!”

“Alright.” Ephee slackened their arms. “Down you go.”

Joshua tumbled to the ground with a heavy _thud_ and their power compressed, streams of milky white whirling into a vacuum until only a scrawny kid was left, blue button up far too large for his narrow frame. He glared up at Ephee, pale, brown eyes alight with fury, teeth barred in anger.

“I run Shibuya however I see fit,” he hissed. “I am its Composer—”

“A loose title, the way things are going.” Ephee folded their arms. “Kitaniji had better ideas than you did.”

“Kitaniji didn’t—”

“But you… you were interesting, weren’t you?” Ephee bent their knees, shortening the distance between themself and Joshua, still glaring ice. “I mean, theoretically, you could have just gone ahead and done it and faced the consequences, but you let Kitaniji talk you down.”

“This place was festering!” Joshua shouted. His fingers curled against the ground, wisps of power escaping Ephee’s hold, silky tendrils looping around his wrists and the crown of his head. “Shibuya was slipping into corruption! Mortals are so _easily_ swayed, given the right tools anyone can do it, and Kitaniji only proved that point!”

Ephee’s eyes flickered up to Mr. Hanekoma, who only returned their gaze with a ‘what could I do?’ smile. He put a hand on the back of his head, accepting his own fault in the matter silently.

“But I still wanted to give it a chance,” Joshua continued. “It is my town, I just needed… proof that it was still good. That people could change.”

Ephee brought their eyes back to Joshua. He still looked up at them, gaze has hard as stone.

“Anyone can change. It’s as if you sought to prove yourself wrong. Shibuya — any town, any place you can find people — is worth saving.”

“I know that now!”

“You should have known it from the beginning.”

He ground his teeth. “Don’t patronize _me_. I found that change in Neku—”

Ephee’s hand shot out and grabbed Joshua’s collar, yanking him forward. “Yes, speaking of Neku Sakuraba,” they started, “I believe we have a pretty direct violation of the accords, there.” They kept Joshua half-suspended with one hand while the silver revolver appeared in the other. “You directly brought a Player into the UG, which in the RG I believe is called homicide. This, of course, was right after you also attempted to kill a Reaper.”

“Sho had it coming,” Joshua hissed.

“And Neku? Did he have it coming?” They watched Joshua swallow. “Fine. Let’s re-enact this. First, Sho.”

Ephee lowered the gun against Joshua’s shoulder and pulled the trigger.

The shot filled the Composer’s room, ricocheting off the incorporeal void constructed mostly of imagination. A blood stain the size of a quarter marked his shirt, the skin otherwise clear as faint, white tendrils pulled the wound back together, recreating the human facade.

Joshua’s eyes had gone wide and silent. They stared up at Ephee with a mix of disbelief and fear. Even Hanekoma had stepped forward, one arm half-reaching out towards Joshua.

“And then… Neku.”

“Ephee…” Mr. Hanekoma began, voice warning.

Joshua gritted his teeth. “I’m not Neku.”

“Well, no, you’re not.” Ephee tapped the gun against Joshua’s head. “But you brought him here on your own whim, which is not only extremely against the rules, but I can’t imagine—”

“Don’t…” Joshua muttered still glaring, though it had lost some of its energy. “Don’t say he…” _…wouldn’t forgive me._

Ephee let the gun evaporate from their hand and they set Joshua back on his feet. Mr. Hanekoma took a few more steps forward.

“You let them live,” they said. It wasn’t even a question. Even with his vibe compressed by Angel, Joshua’s wrists and head were still crowned in the silky, white matter of his true form. It wavered in and out of existence, spilling from cracks forced open by his own, extended use of it. “All four of them. You found a way to bring them all back.”

They looked over to Mr. Hanekoma again. He now stood only a couple feet away, watching Joshua’s shoulders tremble. He rubbed the back of his neck and shifted between his feet, then said, “He is one of the most powerful Composers, you know.”

“I told Neku if I won, I already knew what I was going to do,” Joshua murmured. He still looked up. Still met Ephee’s gaze. “I knew he wouldn’t pull the trigger.”

Ephee couldn’t help but smirk. “Yeah? Kind of a risky bet.”

Mr. Hanekoma shrugged. “Joshua just trusted his partner is all.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading ! I'm not sorry I shot Joshua. I'll shoot him again.  
> Go check out more of [Refelesque's](https://www.instagram.com/refelesque/) work on Instagram!


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